Walter C Dornez
by death-in-the-orchard
Summary: he is a child that no longer belongs to the world...he has been swallowed by the mouth of the devil...contains Abraham van Hellsing, Arthur Hellsing, Alucard, and Walter
1. Chapter 1

Alucard entered the room, but the weight of the atmosphere and the hushed voices made him hesitate for an unnoticed moment. He moved to where his Master stood at some distance from the bed where a doctor was placing an infant into a woman's arms. The husband, a leader among the hunters, stood beside her, both of their faces plastered with tears.

"Stillborn." Abraham murmured to himself, feeling the parent's pain.

The vampire recalled that he had heard the father claim that he wanted to have his child born here at the estate. A gloved hand touched Abraham' shoulder, surprising the man when he saw who it was. Alucard never touched humans, especially the Hellsings, but it was for the respect of the dead that he remained silent. Abraham recovered and gestured to the side of the room where the vampire's gun lay, as was custom before hunts. "Captain Dornez will not be leading the men tonight, tell Arthur." Alucard went to the table, taking the gun into his hand, but as he lifted it, a whisper came to him.

"Time of death, 10:23 pm. Date, December 17, 1931…"

Abraham saw the vampire stiffen out of the corner of his eye and he turned to watch Alucard's hand remain suspended for a moment before he set the gun down again. His eyes widened, disbelief postponing his reaction as the vampire went to the grieving parents. They stared at him with horror as he appeared next to the bed, looking at the child.

"Let me see it for a moment."

Abraham caught up to him and grabbed his red trench coat, but was unable to pull the vampire away. "You are not turning him!" He snarled, rage building. "Get…!" There was silence when the vampire disappeared for a moment and then seemed to materialize on the other side of the room with the baby. Abraham dashed forward as the vampire inclined his head towards the infant, lifting it to his face as well. All action paused when the tiny chest met with Alucard's ear and he closed his eyes. They snapped open and he moved the child, securing his head, and blew sharply in its face.

"What are…" Abraham's voice was overwhelmed by the terrified cry from the baby. It then began to bawl, protesting how close the demon was. Abraham was too stunned to notice that the vampire was trying to give him the baby, so Alucard passed him and put it on the bed. The doctor immediately took up the child, gawking at the strength of its voice before handing it to the mother who began to cry again. Captain Dornez's eyes were fused to the vampire who attempted to retrieve the gun and leave with explanation. Hellsing stopped him, demanding to know what he'd done and why.

"It had a heartbeat. I just scared it to make it work harder, releasing adrenalin…" Alucard's back was to the room and he now began to faze through the door.

"Why?" The order was too strong to ignore and red eyes shone at Abraham.

"It has been 500 years since I was born on this day…"

The humans stared in shock at the area where the vampire had been. The child continued to cry out, the life making its cheeks turn bright red.

Six years passed and Captain Dornez continued to act as a remarkable vampire hunter, killing many over the years…but within this time, he had created a brooding embodiment of hatred. Two vampires attacked his home, containing his wife and child, when he was on leave for an injury. His skill permitted the man to kill the vampires, but the wound had weakened him. His wife was killed before the presence of the vampires was made known. Dornez had walked into the kitchen as his son sat in the pool of his mother's blood. He lunged forward, against the vampire who was closing in on his child, reopening the stitches on his abdomen with the collision, but he managed to put a silver bullet in the monster's head before he fell to his knee. Blood seeped through his fingers as he put pressure on the wound, gazing up at the vampire who suddenly entered. A shot went wide and the vampire held him to the tile. The tussle lasted for less than a minute before a hand was impaled through his stomach. The barrel of the gun found the vampire's skull, expelling the bullet.

The creature dusted over the bloody body, reflected in the child's round blue eyes. Dark bangs shifted in the breeze that entered though the open door down a hall beside him, stealing away the souls of his parents.

Abraham spoke to the woman at the gate as the boy watched the pavement dully. He was soon ushered into a car and driven away.

Abraham went back into the mansion. He was met by the presence of the vampire when he opened the door to his office.

"Where is Captain Dornez's boy?"

Hellsing watched Alucard stand next to his desk as he walked towards it and then sat down. "I sent him to an orphanage in the heart of London. This is no place for a child."

The vampire melted into the wall without commenting.

The boy stood quietly in the corner, his eyes in a habitual glare as he heard the staff gossip about how the he was possessed by a demon. He had taken to isolating himself, even while he ate, stealing only what he could stuff in his pockets from the kitchen. That day, however, a boy had attempted to join him. He knew that the other boy had only been trying to be friendly, but the unwanted presence had pressed against his loose temper and now the said boy was bleeding at the mouth and still throwing up the bread that had been stuffed into his throat followed by a hard fist. Nursing the bruised knuckles, he didn't notice the pack of boys behind him.

He was tackled to the ground and dragged outside into the night. Three months had passed since his parents had died, and he had managed to make a multitude of enemies among the children at the all boys orphanage. A stick broke over his head and blood began to emerge from his dark hair, falling into his eyes. One boy went down as teeth dug into his ankle, but his friends avenged him and the black haired boy was unable to resist, soon tucking his knees and protecting his head as the blows fell, one after another.

Elsewhere, a vampire broke away from his younger Master who exited a dark alley in London, entering the lights with a small group of men, somewhat dirtied by the hunt they had just concluded. The action was common, so none considered the absence while they stepped into a bar to rest and watch the younger Hellsing take in liquor like it was air.

"You little shit! That was my brother!" A shoe pressed the child's face in the soil as a twelve year old boy growled at him. Dirt was soon kicked up and flung over the limp body and emotionless blue eyes closed as it hit his face. A stone left a mark on his cheek that began to throb. When the boys stopped, a glare shot up at the older boy. Suddenly a jump rope was produced as well as a collection of smirking lips. Unable to lift his arms or move in any other way, the rope was looped around the little neck without resistance from its owner.

Gasping for breath, the boy choked, shuddering as his lungs burned. His sight faded to shadows, growing darker, losing distinction…then he saw the face above him and his hand reached for the narrowed eyes. A scream came and the attack was renewed, but now the fight was made known to the staff of the orphanage. They came running as all sight faded.

He woke up the next day, and sat in his bed, gazing at the morning light though his window.

"Please!" The boy begged the older Hellsing as the group of men brought him into the study. It was pitch black outside now, while the sun had just been setting when the boy caught sight of the mansion in the distance. "I don't want to go back!"

Abraham observed the boy's wounds coldly. "I've already been told what happened. I've also been told of your behavior." The boy jerked in surprise and his expression became one of horror as Abraham recounted every truthful and awful detail. "You are going back, boy." A shiver ran down the small spine as the blue eyes stared at him with disapproval.

"Please!" I won't go back! I won't! I don't want to! I hate it! I'm not like them. They aren't like me. We are strangers in different worlds that can't understand one another….I… "I want to stay here, please sir!"

"No." Abraham motioned for his men to grab the boy, however, he slipped away and dashed to the door. He collided with a hard body, but as the men approached, he clung to it instinctively, trembling.

"I don't want to…" a sob was muffled in the red coat, and the child was oblivious of the shocked silence of the room until he peered over his shoulder, hiccupping. He gasped as he was lifted into the air and several pistols flashed as they were withdrawn. The boy watched the red eyes, still shaking and sniffling.

"Then you won't. You aren't a part of their world anymore, are you?" The vampire held the boy in his arms as a renewed bout of crying took him. The sobs grew louder as the boy nodded vigourously, unable to form words for several moments.

"I..w…want…tto sta..ay he..re.." he said between uneven hitches in his sobs and then buried his face in the vampire's chest, clinging to the red ribbon and his white shirt. Alucard was watching his Masters' expressions. Arthur's was as blank as the rest of the men, but Abraham was scowling in disgust.

"Put the boy down, Slave. I am not adopting a child into this organization. I will not be responsible for him…"

"Then I will."

Abraham jolted at the words while Arthur stared in awe. "Why?" he whispered, making Abraham look at his nephew and then the vampire.

"He'll only be estranged from society after what he's witnessed and what he knows. Everyone around him lives in blissful ignorance and complain of misery and sufferings that cannot compare in the face of his own. The child belongs here." Quiet was the only answer the vampire received, and no one stopped him as he left the room with the boy.

As they walked down the darkened hallways, the sobbing quieted but the boy did not pull his face from the vampire and he did not lossen his grip.

"What is your name?"

The voice made the child realize what had just happened and he stiffened in the stranger's arms, not knowing what to do. "Walter." He muttered awkwardly. They stopped abruptly by a maid who almost screamed when she realized who the man was, but Alucard cut her off by pushing the boy into her arms.

"Prepare a room for Walter Dornez. Captain Dornez's room should still be vacant. He'll also be needing food and a bath."

She gawked at the boy too scared to look at the vampire who left them, joining the small party of men with Arthur as they left for that night's hunt.

Walter remembered the night as a dream and when he woke up, he didn't know where he was for several breathless seconds. After his shock a pain invaded his chest and he threw off the sheets and closed the door behind himself when he began to stride down the hall, ignoring how sore he was from the previous night's excursion. That man…he had t make sure that man was real…that he could find him. All he knew were his voice, the ribbon, the white shirt, and the red trench coat. He remembered the white gloved hands that had been the first to touch him gently since his parents had died…. Urgency gave haste to his step and he some collided with Abraham as the man made his way to Walter's bedroom, being led by the maid.

Abraham frowned, but his expression softened as he began to speak, showing some pity for the child. "You are going back."

"Why?" Walter whispered, retreating from the intimidating figure.

"Because…" Abraham began, but Walter cut him off in his excitement.

"That man said he would take responsibility, you don't have to do anything. I promise I won't get in your way. I can do chores…." Hellsing took his shoulder roughly.

"That was no man. That was a vampire, a monster like the ones that killed your parents." Abraham sighed at the deadened face while tears began to form in the maid's eyes and she excused herself from their presence. "He is my Slave and has no right to make decisions like the…"

"NO!" Abraham started at the boy's unguarded fury. "NO! YOU'RE LYING!" An aged hand grabbed after the boy as he dashed down the hall, leaving tears behind him.

"Walter, stop!" But the child ignored the order and disappeared around the corner. Walter searched the whole mansion, and voices followed him in the halls. Fear and desperation rising, Walter ran down an obscure set of stairs, not having gone down them before because of how dark they seemed. He ran blindly in the darkness, finally tripping and sprawling on the stone. He didn't get up when he failed to hear the voices. Instead, he crawled to the side until he felt a wall with his hand. Curling into a tight ball, he rocked back and forth, whimpering as his imagination pulled monsters from the darkness. Walter cried out when a hand grabbed his arm and red eyes burned like candles in the dark above him.

"Quiet."

Walter hushed at the familiar voice, but he was unable to rejoice as Hellsing's words haunted him. "Are you really a vampire?"

The grip tightened slightly and then let go of the boy before the voice answered. "Yes."

Walter curled again and tucked his head into his knees, trembling with memories. "It…it's not fair…I thought…finally…" tears dripped onto the boy's knees as he whispered. "…finally someone…" he groaned when a sob shook his body. He recoiled when the large hand returned to his shoulder, but it pulled away immediately. Walter froze when a child's hand touched him and he allowed it to move his face from his knees. His eyes had begun to become accustomed to the darkness and he saw the wavering white of the figure.

When he was led out of the dungeon, he stared at the girl who matched his height and wore perfectly white clothes and black hair to her waist. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice when she opened the door of the office, but he tried to flee when he saw both of the Hellsings in the room alone. The two men stared dumbly at the red eyed girl.

"What the Hell is this, Slave?" Abraham barked from behind the desk, standing up.

"I said that I would take care of the child."

"You look like a little girl!"

"Yet, you are sending him away." Alucard continued, unfazed. "What more must be demanded for him to remain here?"

Abraham growled but let the detail of the vampire's switch in gender and age go. "I cannot use the Crown's funding to care for a child. You would have to supply for the expenses, but you do not have the ability to, Slave."

Alucard smiled, deterring Hellsing's glare, while making Arthur uncomfortable. "I know you used my fortune and what you profited from the selling of my castle to establish the basis of this organization. The Queen has since covered those losses and collecting interest in a bank somewhere, the money is enough to sustain the boy until he turns ninety-five, without his having to work a day in his life."While Abraham was still glaring indignantly at the vampire and Arthur was gaping, the vampire ushered Walter out the door and told him to see a maid about getting something to eat for breakfast before closing the door. Walter stared at the bronze colored handle before doing what Alucard had asked.


	2. Chapter 2

"Why are you doing this?" large red eyes focused on Abraham and Alucard stepped towards the desk, away from the door to minimize the amount of sound that would escape under it as he spoke.

"Why can't he stay?"

Abraham's eyes narrowed. Arthur was watching in silence, finding himself out of place at the moment. "Answer my question, Slave." The hiss that accompanied the words did nothing to the empty mask that was the vampire's face. Alucard stood in the center of the room, looking up at Abraham who stood behind the large wooden desk. There was a pause that narrowed Abraham's eyes, but they stopped as soon as Alucard responded.

"It's cruel to send him back. He was almost killed by those children, so twisted and bent on honor, duty, and revenge from the demonizing that occurred in the last war." Abraham stared at his vampire before he scowled.

"How do you know this?" he spat, his temper flaring, seen in the brightening of his eyes.

"I saw." The temperature in the room seemed to fall as realization of the extent of the confession dawned. The vampire had visited an orphanage, full of children, of his own accord. Alucard stopped the raging thoughts and anxiety in the men when he continued. "I smelled his blood when we were in London. When I found him, a group of boys, most about twice his age, had him on the ground and were strangling him with a jump rope. The boy only survived because he had the instinct to lash out at a vulnerable part of his enemy and the staff heard the other boy's screams and came to the scene." The vampire paused for a moment, closing his eyes and then opening them to see Abraham's uncompassionate expression. "The outside world cannot understand him and thus cannot excuse his difference or the coldness in his personality, drawn by the wound of misfortune, Master. Society will warp him and infect his wound with hate and isolation. He needs to stay here."

"Why did you change your form?" Alucard frowned when Abraham was distracted from the point he had been trying to make, but he calmed as he realized Abraham had simply accepted his words without comment, instead of ignoring them.

"He needed something that would not inspire fear from memory. Another boy his age would do nothing, the image made useless by the orphanage. So I chose this one."

There was silence for a while.

"Why are you doing this? What you have said does not answer my question." Abraham's face was hard as usual, but his eyes were different than they usually were when they fell upon the vampire. Alucard turned his face to the wall after his eyes glanced over Arthur.

"I don't know."

"Here," the young maid smiled brightly as she helped Walter take the rag in his hand and she turned him to the bookshelf, giggling when the boy swallowed. "….so you remove the books, dusting them off before you stack them in four neat piles. Keep them in the order that you take them out so you won't have to reorganize all of the titles again. Then dust off the shelves. When your rag gets too dirty, take it to the balcony and hit it on the rail to get rid of the little dust bunnies. Okay?" She giggled again, making Walter flinch and then force a smile. When she closed the door behind her, Walter sighed with relief. Her bubbly personality was suffocating and he glared his annoyance at the dust on the bookshelf, remembering the term she had used to describe it.

"So I throw the little bunnies from the second story balcony?" he smirked and lifted the first book from the shelf, wrinkling his nose at the dust that threatened to make him sneeze. He paused when his eyes flashed. "Bunny hunting." Walter laughed, swiping the cloth over the cover of the book. He wondered loosely who would mop the floor of all of the corpses, but shrugged and continued his work.

Time passed and Walter beat out the collecting dust from the rag three times before the shelf was empty. He jumped off the last step of the small ladder that had been provided, holding a decorative glass bowl full of marbles in his hands. Walter didn't realize that the marbles would also jump and shift when he did, so when the glass objects beat against one another and the glass shattered suddenly in his hands he stared at the fragments of glass, listening to the cascading roar of the escaping colored marbles. They fell and bounced on the floor dully before more would fall on them, forcing them away. The colliding mass spread like a thick layer of water, the blue mixed with the red marbles. The two colors occupied the wooden floor, clinking against one another lightly before they all rested in their own individual places. Walter's wide eyes moved from the floor to the remains of the bowl and the few marbles that were in it. His palm was bleeding, the red seeping along the curved surface of the glass, crawling up it before it found the space between his fingers and began to drip.

As Walter felt the first waves of guilt the door opened quickly and a maid gasped at the sight. She stammered and then huffed angrily and strode towards Walter, making him step back and slide over the marbles and glass. He began to fall and his feet desperately fought to find the wood, suspended by the marbles, but could not. There was quiet when Walter remained upright. He looked at the little girl who was holding his arm, a bored look in her eyes. The maid hesitated and decided to stop some ways away from the foreign presence.

Alucard looked at the blood painted bowl. "How did you manage to do this?" his voice was without any signs of annoyance, calming Walter's nervousness as he was helped away from the mess. The boy smiled to himself when he found his feet secured to the floor. Then he frowned and analyzed the objects in his hands.

"I don't know. I took it down and when I got off the last step it…just exploded." The vampire's raised an eyebrow at the excitement in Walter's voice, but the boy didn't see. "I mean, it just shattered. I don't know why…I didn't hit it on anything and I wasn't holding it that hard. It…it was possessed."

"Possessed?" Walter looked at Alucard and then nodded quickly.

"Yeah."

Both of the humans in the room started at the laugh that came from the vampire. Red eyes went to the woman, but she was already retreating from the room. "Hey." She stiffened at the door, knowing that the vampire was talking to her. Alucard was smirking, still affected by his mirth. "Get a first aid kit…some tweezers…they boy's cut his hand." She turned the corner, leaving the door open. Alucard watched for a moment before he turned his attention to the floor. "Now we see if she comes back." He chuckled, skirting the sea of marbles.

Only seconds went by before someone walked past the doorway and back tracked when they saw the glass and marbles. The butler bit his lip when he found Walter standing idly with the reddened bowl, but he left to fetch a broom and a pan. The man gasped when he came back to the room and was met at the door by two unmistakable, expectant eyes. "You…!" he almost tripped as he backed away, his eyes bulging when the vampire grabbed the objects from his hands and went to the mess.

Alucard ignored the butler as the man ran off, narrowing his eyes at the cut that was still bleeding. He sighed and dropped the dust pan and stepped forward. "You're useless until that fool comes back with tweezers." The shards clinked as they were swept up, leaving Walter to watch uncomfortably.

When Alucard swept the first pile into the dust pan he straightened and turned to the door where Abraham was standing with the butler and the maid. The vampire glared at the woman, his fangs making her shy away when he hissed his aggravation. "I asked you to complete a simple task, woman, and you can't even manage that?" the humans were quiet as the little girl leaned the broom against a table and went to them. "The medical kit? Tweezers? Do you remember now?"

"I…." her eyes were wide with fear, making Abraham's lips twitch upward as he saw the effect the six year old girl version of his slave still had on people.

"Am I in trouble?" all attention went to the boy whose lost expression made the maid depart to collect the kit and Abraham shook his head. He walked by his slave to survey the damage, eying the dustpan. Walter went up to him without warning and began to try and convince the man that the mess wasn't his fault. "It just broke, all of a sudden. I didn't do anything. It just did it on its own."

"Well, you must have done something." Abraham frowned after he spoke, reminded of Alucard's presence.

"It's obvious what happened." Blue eyes moved to the vampire as he entered the scene, its eyes on the step stool. "The steps are spaced widely apart. The boy must have upset the marbles when he got off the stool."

"The stool?" Walter repeated slowly. "It did break right after."

"Mystery solved." Abraham sighed, running his hand over his face.

Walter sighed as well, making the old man look at him with interest and then smirk. He took the bloodied bowl and went to the rag, setting the bowl on it, putting both on the table where the broom was still leaning. Abraham observed the broom, his eyes running along the wooden handle before they sparked and he turned to his vampire with a dark smile. "You clean this." He blinked and lost his smile when the vampire took the broom and continued sweeping. Alucard paused and gave a smug grin.

"Where you expecting something, Master?" While the two were watching one another, Walter decided to try and help, so he bent down to pick up some of the marbles with his good hand. The vampire noticed with an irritated sigh. "Stop. There could be fragments on them. They'll have to be washed. Just stand by the old man over there." Alucard ignored Abraham's annoyance and started cleaning again.

The maid returned and Alucard put the broom aside, going to the woman who hurriedly avoided him and gave the kit to Abraham before exiting the room. The vampire's eyes sparked but he said nothing and held out his hand for the kit. Blue eyes looked at him doubtfully, but curiosity prompted Abraham to hand the box over. It was set soundlessly on the table and Alucard quickly drew out the tweezers, motioning for the boy to come to him. Walter let the vampire take his palm, gasping at how cold his hands were through the white gloves. Alucard's eyes narrowed, inspecting the long slit interrupted with a few jagged shards. "Don't flinch or it'll hurt more, though it shouldn't hurt at all if you are still initially." Two pairs of blue eyes watched as Alucard removed the glass with ease, pulling the pieces out and placing them in his gloved hand not occupied by the instrument. He dropped the shards on the table inattentively and put the tweezers away, ignoring the bandages to Abraham's surprise and Walter's confusion. However, he returned to the boy and touched his hand. When he suddenly brought the wound to his mouth and licked it, Abraham snarled in outrage, wrenching him away from the startled boy who gazed at his hand with a gape. Hellsing had his slave by the hair and was dragging him farther away from the boy when Walter spoke up.

"Please…don't!"

The words halted Abraham and he looked at the boy who was staring at his hand with some amazement and then at Abraham with fear. Walter looked up and showed the man his hand. "Look! It's all better!"

Abraham stood dumbfounded at the unblemished palm and his eyes fell to his slave. Alucard was letting himself hang from Abraham's grip on his hair instead of standing on his feet. Abraham dropped the vampire, still dwelling on what had just happened. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Vampires have healing abilities as well." He was looking into the man's eyes emotionlessly. There was quiet after this.


End file.
